Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: touch, feel, sense of touch, tactile sense, tactility, contact, using one's hands, sensation, sense, suspicion, sneaking suspicion, notion, inkling, hunch, fancy, apprehension, presentiment, premonition, foreboding, love, care, affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, warmness, emotion, sentiment, emotional state, compassion, sympathy, empathy, fellow feeling, understanding, concern, solicitude, solicitousness, tender-heartedness, brotherly love, sensibilities, sensitivities, self-esteem, ego, pride, opinion, belief, view, impression, intuition, instinct, estimation, guess, theory, hypothesis, thought, way of thinking, point of view, atmosphere, ambience, aura, air, mood, climate, character, overtone, undertone, tenor, spirit, quality, flavour, colour, aptitude, knack, flair, bent, talent, gift, skill, art, trick, faculty, ability, propensity, inclination, sensitive, warm, warm-hearted, tender, tender-hearted, caring, soft-hearted, sympathetic, compassionate, empathetic, responsive, receptive, intuitive, thoughtful

Antonyms: bad feeling, acrimony, animosity, animus, antagonism, antipathy, aversion, bitterness, detestation, disgust, dislike, disrelish, enmity, friction, grievances, grudges, hatred, hostility, loathing, malevolence, malice

Showing 4126 to 4150 of 4653 results

4126. The Lord Comes and Reigns

Zechariah 14:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... left Jerusalem before the destruction of the temple in 586 BC (Ezek. 11:23) and from which Christ ascended into glory (Acts 1:9–12). Here also will the glory of God (in the person of Christ) return to Jerusalem (Ezek. 43:1–4). When the Lord touches the mountain, it will be split in two, forming a great valley running east to west. This is only one of a number of great, supernaturally caused changes that will take place (14:6–10). The people of Jerusalem will flee through this valley to Azel (a place ...

4127. The Man With Leprosy

Matthew 8:1-4

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... heals a leper (with “leprosy” being a term that could describe any number of skin diseases) upon hearing the leper’s trust in Jesus’s healing ability (8:2–3). Matthew emphasizes Jesus’s authority and compassion as well as the importance of faith. Jesus touches the leper to heal him, a profound gesture to one who presumably rarely had physical contact during his illness (cf. Lev. 5:3 with Lev. 13:1–59). After healing him, Jesus commands him (1) to fulfill the requirements of the law for ritual ...

4128. Jesus Heals Many

Matthew 8:14-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The account of Jesus’s healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (8:14–15) emphasizes Jesus’s power to heal by his touch (as with the leper; 8:3). Matthew sums up these first three miracles and Jesus’s healing ministry generally (8:16) with a fulfillment quotation from Isaiah 53:4, emphasizing Jesus as the one who takes Israel’s diseases upon himself (8:17). Readers have already heard a likely allusion ...

4129. A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman

Matthew 9:18-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... daughter who has just died and expressing his faith in Jesus’s ability to raise her (9:18). On his way to their home, a woman who has been subject to bleeding for twelve years approaches Jesus. Believing that contact with Jesus will heal her, she touches his cloak (9:20–21). Jesus declares that her faith has brought about her healing. The story ends with the raising of the ruler’s daughter as Jesus takes her by the hand. Matthew ties the two stories into one, sandwiching the former within the latter ...

4130. Jesus Heals the Blind and Mute

Matthew 9:27-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ; see “Theological Themes” in the introduction). Jesus heals them “according to [their] faith” in his power to heal them (9:28–29). Matthew again highlights the faith of those coming for healing as well as Jesus’s authority to heal simply by a touch of his hand (9:29). As he has done earlier (cf. 8:4), Matthew also indicates a certain level of secrecy that Jesus attempts to maintain (unsuccessfully here: 9:31), which parallels the notoriety that is accompanying his healing ministry (9:26, 33 ...

4131. Jesus Walks on Water

Matthew 14:22-36

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... this section of Matthew (16:16). Matthew has framed Jesus’s feeding of the five thousand and his walking on water with two summaries about Jesus’s healing ministry (14:13–14, 34–36). The first highlights his compassion to heal; the second emphasizes his power to heal (“all who touched him were healed”; 14:36). Gennesaret (14:34) is a plain located on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee.

4132. A Man with Leprosy

Mark 1:40-45

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... healing but divine cleansing (a word that occurs four times here). In desperation, this leper breaks the fifty-pace buffer zone (Luke 17:12) to reach Jesus. Jesus responds not by reviling him but by declaring his desire to cleanse him. In touching the leper, Jesus demonstrates the power of “divine contagion” to heal disease contagion. Jesus sternly commands the cleansed leper to remain silent and to present himself to a priest, whose function it was to render a certificate of healing, thus allowing the ...

4133. The Calling of Levi

Mark 2:13-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... required dishonesty in order for a tax collector to survive economically. That Jesus would call as a disciple a tax collector, who was detested because of his collaboration with the Roman occupation and ritually unclean because of it, was no less offensive than his touching of a leper (1:40–45). This story repeats and reinforces the truth of 2:1–12: there he forgave sins; here he demonstrates forgiveness of sinners by eating with them. The scandal of Jesus’s eating with tax collectors consists in the ...

4134. The Healing of a Deaf and Mute Man

Mark 7:31-37

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the category of defilements in Judaism, but in holy persons spittle was often considered a healing agent. The “tradition of the elders” (7:1–23) forbade Jews from contacting unclean objects or persons, but in his intimate contact with this man by touch and spittle, Jesus demonstrates his embrace of Gentiles. The empathy of Jesus’s prayer in 7:34 and the concrete description of the healing in Greek (“the fetter of his tongue was broken” [NIV “his tongue was loosened,” 7:35]) suggest release ...

4135. Opposition from Pharisees and Disciples

Mark 8:14-21, Mark 8:22-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... faith is a process. Like the blind man, the disciples, who “have eyes but fail to see” (8:18), can also be made to see and understand, but not on their own. The ability to see, both physically and spiritually, is a gift of God, made possible by the repeated touch of Jesus.

4136. Jesus Predicts His Death

Mark 8:31--9:1

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (8:31). Jesus’s teaching is so contrary to the disciples’ expectations that, as he repeatedly touched the blind man in 8:22–26, he will repeat it three times (8:31; 9:31; 10:33–34) “on the way” to Jerusalem (8:27). At last Peter and the disciples understand—and “rebuke [Jesus]” (8:32). Never was it heard in Israel that the ...

4137. A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman

Luke 8:40-56

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... woman, and then returns to the story of Jairus (8:40–56). The ruler of a synagogue (8:41) arranged synagogue services. The accomplishment of Jairus’s request is delayed by the throng that surrounds Jesus and is then interrupted by the woman who “touched the edge of his cloak” (probably his tassel; cf. Num. 15:38–39). This woman has been hemorrhaging for twelve years, and such bleeding would make her ritually unclean (Lev. 15:25–30). Luke may tone down Mark’s remark on how her many doctors ...

4138. Warnings and Encouragements

Luke 12:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... remembers sparrows, which are sold for less than a cent (12:6). In fact, every hair on a person’s head is “numbered” by God (12:7). God remembers and cares for the person who is suffering persecution; God has not forgotten, and no suffering can touch a person without first passing through God’s hands. (4) Verses 8–9 bring out what is implicit in verse 5. What should people fear when being persecuted? They should fear denying Christ, for such denial will mean that such a person is “disowned” by ...

4139. Jesus Appears to the Disciples

Luke 24:36-49

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... because of the nail prints in them (cf. John 20:24–28). Technically speaking, the nails were put through the wrists, but a reference to the hands would include the wrists as well. If observation of Jesus’s body is not enough, then they should touch him as well, for no spirit has flesh and bones. Last, Jesus proves the reality of his resurrection by eating fish before his disciples, for no spirit could do that. It is important to realize that Jesus’s body was not simply resuscitated. A resuscitated ...

4140. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

John 20:10-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... calls her by name, she at once recognizes his voice (see 10:3, “He calls his own sheep by name”). Yet now she misunderstands the meaning of Jesus’s presence. Why does Jesus forbid her embrace (20:17) whereas in 20:27 he will invite Thomas to touch him? Mary is trying to hold on to the joy she has found in his resurrection. In effect Jesus is saying that his permanent presence with her will be in another form. This is precisely the message of the Farewell Discourse. Jesus’s “coming” will also be ...

4141. Jerusalem Council and the Identity of Gentile Believers

Acts 15:1-21, Acts 15:22-35

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the law of Moses” (15:5). When Paul and Barnabas, among others, go to Jerusalem, they meet with the leaders of the Jerusalem church. The meeting, often called “the Jerusalem council,” provides an important occasion for the clarification of significant issues that touch on the heart of the gospel message. Luke’s report of the meeting focuses on the speeches of Peter (15:7–12) and James (15:13–21), the latter of which concludes with the “apostolic decree” (15:19–20). Luke’s emphasis on ...

4142. Questions about the Collection and Paul’s Plans

1 Corinthians 16:1-4, 1 Corinthians 16:5-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to the church that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have arrived, and he gladly commends their service in supplying him with the information that has allowed him to respond more fully to the church’s needs. Such men “deserve recognition” for their ministry of keeping the apostle and the church in touch with one another (16:18).

4143. An Appeal to the Galatians

Galatians 4:8-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... among them (4:12). Because of some illness, which he does not pause to detail here (perhaps his “thorn in my flesh”; see 2 Cor. 12:7), Paul’s initial visit caused him to come under obligation to the Galatians. He recalls for them their former touching and sympathetic response (4:15) to his needs and appeals to the strong personal relationship (4:14) to press them to reject those who would attempt to drive a wedge between them and their founder (4:17). He applauds them for their concern to be zealous ...

4144. Freedom From Human Regulations Through Life With Christ

Colossians 2:6-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... conflicts within the early church. See Acts 15:1–35; Gal. 2:1–12; 1 Cor. 8:1–13; 10:1–33; and Rom. 14:3–6, 17, where the language is similar to that found in Colossians.) The description “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” (2:21) suggests Jewish piety, here relegated to the present age, which works off human tradition and its limited wisdom (see also Matt. 15:9, citing Isa. 29:13). Paul does not claim that Jews were legalistic. By observing the law, Jews expressed their status as God ...

4145. Living to Please God

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... have demonstrated (see 1 Thess. 1:3), possibly through hospitality (Rom. 16:1–2) or acting as benefactors by helping those in need (2 Cor. 8:1–5, 8–11, 24). As in 4:1, he urges them to excel in what they are already doing. Having touched on the issue of being benefactors for others (4:10), Paul now fixes his attention on those members of the church who are receiving aid from their patrons, whether inside or outside the church. This passage, like 2 Thessalonians 3:6–15, demonstrates that the apostles ...

4146. Thanksgiving and Appeal

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... s own family. Timothy does not minister alone and in isolation. He stands in a long line of saints, and Paul’s nonstop prayers support him as well. Moreover, though Timothy seems to be crippled by his own fears, Paul wants to encourage him with what he finds touching about Timothy’s rich inward life: the tears he has shed in Paul’s presence and the knowledge that their reunion will bring Paul great joy. Paul has seen evidence of great faith at work in Timothy. He now appeals for more. 1:6–7 · First ...

4147. The Taming of the Tongue

James 3:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... us with two pointed illustrations that small objects can have great power. The skillful rider uses a small piece of metal or leather to direct the motions of a powerful horse (3:3); the pilot controls the direction and speed of a huge sailing vessel with the touch of a hand on the rudder (3:4). So also the tongue, though a relatively small member of the body, possesses great potential for good or for evil. It can be used to encourage, evangelize, and endear; it can also be used to criticize, mock, and curse ...

4148. Suffering for Doing Good

1 Peter 3:8-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... in this world are earthly expressions of unseen fallen spiritual entities. Therefore, submission to secular authority as well as submission to all the constraints of earthly existence is a form of bondage to the powers of evil. Having told us to submit, Peter must touch on the spiritual implications of his teaching. The “imprisoned spirits” (3:19) are not the souls of dead human beings but fallen angels (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). According to Jewish tradition (1 Enoch 6–20), they deceived and corrupted the ...

4149. Final Exhortations and Greetings

1 Peter 5:1-11, 1 Peter 5:12-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... them, if we must continue to live as loyal citizens of Babylon (5:13) even though we know her satanic power has been broken, then what about authority structures within the church? What kinds of leadership and submission are appropriate for those who are already touched by the glory of the coming age? Peter’s pastoral concern predominates in 5:1–5. His self-designation in verse 1 hints at this deeper concern. He is a “fellow elder” (NRSV omits this)—not an exalted apostle—and with them a witness ...

4150. The Prologue of 1 John—from Witness to Fellowship

1 John 1:1-4

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... a declaration of that which was from “the beginning.” Rather than the beginning of the world, though, this prologue highlights the beginning of the Christian movement, harkening back to the ministry of Jesus. The testimony of what has been heard, seen, touched, and beheld connects the firsthand experience with the ministry of Jesus with second- and third-generation believers (John 20:29). Not only do the Gospel, the works and words of Jesus, the testimony of John the Baptist, and the Scriptures declare ...

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